HIV infection, acute

HIV infection, acute The body’s initial reaction to infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a flu-like syndrome that occurs 2 to 4 weeks after a person contracts HIV. Symptoms include fever, sore throat, headache, skin rash, and swollen glands (lymphadenopathy). This syndrome precedes the development of detectable antibodies to HIV in the blood (seroconversion), which normally takes weeks or months. When antibodies to HIV appear in the blood, a person tests positive in the standard ELISA test for HIV. See also AIDS; HIV infection, primary.